Trump’s Budget - Heartless Cuts

AUTHOR

Tony Magliano | Peace Columnist

Robin Hood, the legendary hero of English folklore who took from the rich to give to the poor – whose very name conjures up thoughts of fairness, justice and love for the oppressed – stands in stark contrast to President Trump who wants to take from the poor and give to the rich.

PUBLISHED ON

Jul 2018

The recent congressional Republican sponsored tax legislation signed into law by Trump gives huge tax cuts to wealthy individuals and profit-rich corporations. And as a result the federal deficit will astronomically increase.

So in order to help pay down the deficit, in his 2019 fiscal year budget proposal Trump is urging Congress to drastically cut funding to numerous domestic and international anti-poverty programs that are literally saving lives and helping millions of impoverished fellow human beings experience basic humane living standards. What is being proposed here is Robin Hood in reverse.

If adopted by Congress, the Trump budget would seriously reduce funding for Medicaid–which provides medical coverage for millions of low-income citizens of all ages including poor seniors, people with disabilities, children and pregnant women. The result would provide less coverage for fewer needy people–and probably be a significant contributing factor leading to more abortions.

The Trump proposals to completely eliminate Title II/Food for Peace programming and to severely slash the Emergency Food Security Program means that approximately 20 million people in crises would likely lose access to lifesaving food assistance.

It’s important to note that even without the proposed cuts the U.S. currently only gives 0.2 percent of its income to international development assistance; ranking it 22nd in comparison to other more economically developed nations. These proposed cuts are nothing short of heartless.

St. Ambrose taught, “You are not making a gift of what is yours to the poor man, but you are giving him back what is his. … The earth belongs to everyone, not to the rich.” And our Lord Jesus warns each of us that “Much will be required of the person entrusted with much, and still more will be demanded of the person entrusted with more.”

With over 40 million Americans living below the poverty level, and over 800 million desperately hungry people around the globe, the world needs a real American Robin Hood–not a Robin Hood in reverse.

In his new apostolic exhortation Gaudete et Exsultate (“Rejoice and Be Glad”), Pope Francis reminds us that the Lord has set the bar extremely high for you and me: “He wants us to be saints and not to…